OCR Revision exam question

1A
Evaluation categories

• Creativity
• Design elements 
• Video effect
• Props
• Prop production
• Murder board
• Sugar bottle
• Makeup
• FX makeup
• Cut wrist
• Scraped knuckle
• Scraped knee
• Camera techniques
• Location adaptions
• Costume and makeup
• Lighting
• Editing techniques
• Colour overlay
• Research and planning
• Focus group
• Permission: actor, location, music
• Target audience: GEARS, Rubican
• Questionnaires
• Storyboard
• Textual and timed analysis 
• Real media conventions
• Horror
• Slow music
• Dark lighting 
• Low key lighting 
• Youth
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Grunge
• Pastel
• Friendship 
• Romance
• Digital technology
• InDesign
• Online surveys
• Photoshop
• PremierPro
• Camera
• Social media
• Lighting 
• Youtube
• Post-production
• 
  

Exemplar:

1a)  Over the two year media course we had to produce both a foundation portfolio of a
school magazine and music magazine as well as an advance portfolio of a horror
teaser trailer, film magazine – developing foundation skills further and a poster to
advertise our trailer.
In the first year we researched existing music magazines and analysed each one so
that we could gain knowledge of particular layouts, fonts and key elements that need
to be contained in our production to make it successful. Research and planning
allowed us to recognise ‘mastheads’ on magazines as being the most important and
therefore the need to focus on a font more detailed to keep continuity with the
contents page and double page spread which we also had to create. Personally I
researched ‘Rock’ magazines such as Kerrang, NME and others because I had chosen
after carrying out a questionnaire to use Rock music as my theme. The real life media
texts allowed me to visualise my favourite parts from each magazine – wripped
sticker graphics and broken font on my own work which I then attempted to recreate
within Photoshop CS4. In year one we were limited to what we could research
because magazines were the only theme however, in the second year I was able to
develop my ability to  research real life media texts much further because we had a
range of products we needed to create all under the ‘horror’ genre this time. I was able
to research teaser trailers analysing my favourite and least favourite parts allowing me
to plan with a mood board which I produced from a range of stills from previous
horror films my ideas for my own trailer which helped me to develop my production
of my products in relation to real life media texts and techniques such as restricted
narration and handheld camera found in the ‘Blair Witch Project’ trailer which
inspired my trailer ‘Laquem’ which is also set in the woods. Research into film
documentaries like the ‘American Nightmare’ inspired me to create a product which
reinforced fear and went against usual horror conventions to make it more interesting.
Over the second year research became so important to achieving a product which was
realistic and is now like my own distributed on on youtube as a real life media text of
its own.
Real life media texts like advertising film posters were able to help me develop my
Photoshop skills further because I was able to push myself with the ‘colour burn’
filters and want to create the scary atmosphere of my trailer from just an image and
text which I found really fun.
Research into film magazines allowed me to develop my work from AS level so much
further because I was able to produce a high standard piece of work in two weeks this
year when the magazines took over 3 months last year which shows how much my
skills have improves just by being able to constantly refer back to real life media texts
for inspiration and even colour schemes that work well together such as black and red
which in the first year I just found experimenting with. Research into horror trailers
allowed me to recognise different styles of film and how we like Alfred Hitchcock
could be an auteur creating new angles and ideas using generic conventions as well as
unconventional representations that I have picked upon when watching films and
analysing certain techniques which I have then attempted to do in Final Cut Pro when
editing certain shots together to create collision cutting and changes in pace which my
trailer does extremely well. I was inspired initially by the hand held camera in the
trailer REC and the fact I want as an auteur to change the stereotyped representations
to be able use a female psycho killer.
Research also allowed me to produce text and intertitles that shook in order to capture
my audience but narrating the story slightly so the shots when together made sense.
Research into types of camera movements needed were really helpful and allowed me
to completely change the pace with tracking shots and handheld camera which I
noticed was used in Silent Hill and American Werewolf in London which I analysed
and placed on my blog for reference as some pieces of footage I wanted to recreate
including the final girl representations.
EAA 8
EG 8
T 4
(20)

Question 1
1 (a) Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer. [25]

Throughout the process of the media course I have developed my skills in multiple platforms such as Photoshop CC 2014, InDesign and PremierPro in order to create an engaging advanced portfolio comprised of various forms of video and print media.

During the AS year we explored print media through music magazine covers I choose to crate a rock based magazine styled heavily around Kerrang.  In order to complete this task successfully I had to study the genre conventions of a rock magazine such as font style, colorisation and subject placement.  Through this process I was able to independently form a suitable magazine cover this practise task at the start of the year helped to hone my photoshop skills and prepared me for the process of making digipaks in the A2 year.

My main project for AS was to film an opening sequence for a horror movie titled "The Three".  I was involved with an arduous pre-production process involving prop building and set design as this was one of my main roles in the production.  I created missing person posters using microsoft word and constructed a "murder pin board" to take position in our shoot location.  Research into both the horror and crime thriller genres showed us that these would be useful props when attempting to set the scene for the trailer.  One of our main influences from the horror genre was "The Blair Witch Project" with us taking inspiration from it's shaky camera style as well as it's erratic close up shots, we later discovered that these shots were similar to that of the style of "The Walking Dead" opening credits as well as the opening credits for "American Horror Story: Murder House".  Our main influence from the horror thriller genre was "The House at the end of the street" which featured sinister music and suspenseful pauses.  Our PremierPro abilities were tested throughout this year as it was out first attempts with the software leading to some interesting editing decisions but we have learnt from these mistakes and improved drastically this year.  We learnt from trailers like "American Werewolf in London" and "The Shining" that sometimes it is more powerful to hide the monster or villain in the opening credits of the piece so that the audience is on edge when the true piece begins.  Both music, editing and establishing shots are vital in this process with higher pitched slow music being particularly powerful as it creates a chilling atmosphere.  We also ascertained that photographic techniques such as solarisation could be implanted in order to create disturbing changes to images in order to unsettle the viewer.

Throughout A2 we have been stretched to create more detailed plans in order to create a more professional final product as whilst our AS project was effectively good it lacked certain aspects.  One thing we strived to improve this year was out casting and subsequent representation our desire to feature a wider range of people in our project in order to appeal to a wider range of viewers in and create a wider target audience in GEARS.  We also wished to create a more precise story board with timing so have constructed a storyboard which contains each shot that we wish to include in our video in time to the music we have chosen to accompany it.  Our planning process also furthered this year through the creation of inspirational image videos in order to help us better understand the aesthetic that we wish to achieve these pieces have been created using PremierPro.  Our research process has also been further through the use of both manual survey collection and survey software being used this year to explore the vest ways to collect data.  We have also looked into making focus groups shot in the studio in order to better understand our target audience and create the most successful piece we can.  Other techniques we have used for data collection include audio interviews and presentations.  Our main influence for our music video stemmed from indie music videos such "Wolf Alice- She" and "The 1975- Robbers" these music videos avoid a fixed point of narrative and do not conform to a true Freytag structure although the contain loose narrative they tend to exist in either a dream/reality world or over the course of an undisclosed period of time.  Both of these narrative styles give the videos a relatively laid back appearance which fits the style of the music genre.  Some of the main conventions used are still close shots as well as shots of band members (we have chosen to substitute band members for cast members).

I have been able to expand my InDesign skills through the of our Ancillary task of a Digipak.  I was able to create the base elements for the digipak in Photoshop as I am most used to the software due to the fact that I use it in photography but then created the cover in InDesign. Research was vital at this point as I had to create multiple covers that were consistent with the industry standard as well as then take an audience survey to determine which base design should be used before making necessary alterations depending on my target audiences opinions on what would make a successful digipak.  This was helpful as it allowed me to gain a good idea of what my target audience wanted and allowed me to cater to it effectively.

Question 2

1 (a) Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer. [25]

1B

• Genre
• Indie
• Still shots
• Close shots
• No singer
• Rock
• Alternative
• Narrative
• Thematic
• Narrative 
• Todorovs
• Freytag
• Props
• Barthes
• Representation
• Sexuality
• Vern and Bonnie Bullough
• Gender
• Vern and Bonnie Bullough 
• Race
• Age
• Ann Gould
• Hebdige
• Audience
• 15-25
• Nostalgia
• All genders
• All ethnicities 
• All socio-economic status
• Media language
• Overlay
• Multimedia
• Digipak
• Website
• Instagram
• Music video

(b) Apply the concept of genre to one of your coursework productions. [25]